How to Engage Children in the Thanksgiving Celebrations

Are your children more of a hindrance than a help at holiday time? Would you like to involve your children in the thanksgiving preparations, but find that they create more work than they actually do? Here are some tried and true ways to involve your children at age appropriate levels in memory making and family bonding.

Ways children under three can help in the kitchen:

Artist in Residence: Print off placemats and give her the job of 'working' at her desk (highchair) to color the placemats for every guest. Make them out of Crayola Color Wonder if your little Picasso tends to do decorate more than just the coloring page. Be very serious and tell her you are depending upon her.

Official taste tester. Very important job.

Pie crust maker. Give him his own little blob of dough and a pot pie tin to make his pie.

Dishwasher: With an old apron, some dish soap, water and a few plastic dishes, your little helper will have your dishes (and probably the floor) clean and sparkling.

Greeter.

Pet supervisor; pets get nervous at holidays. Little ones can pet and reassure them.

Potato peel picker upper.

Pet feeder: rodent pets love vegetable peelings; have the youngest bring treats.

Ways children under six can help in the kitchen:

Miller: Use the applesauce mill to make the applesauce

Dairyman: Shake the whipping cream to make butter. (see recipe)

Official potato peeler.

Baker: Make the canned biscuits or croissants.

Pumpkin pie mixer; Some children can measure and mix; others may need help from a parent or an older sibling to measure the ingredients.

Apple slicer (use plastic knife).

Package opener/ box crusher. It's always nice to have someone gather up the trash and recycling and collapse the boxes and fold bags.

Interior decorator:

Collect fall leaves for a centerpiece
Make a fall color paper chain (red, yellow, orange, brown construction paper). Older children write thankfuls on them.
Collect items from the house for food pantry.
Make welcome banners.
Make place holders
Cut hand print leaves and make a wreath.
Use bingo markers or window cling paint to decorate windows in a holiday theme of pumpkins, corn, Indians, welcome banners and more.

Chief recycler: rinses jars, collapses boxes.

Chair washer: our chairs always need a wipe down before company. This is a great job for younger children (whose eyes are actually young enough to see the dirt!).

Dishes and utensils counter: this person counts out forks, knives, spoons, plates, cups and napkins for all guests. Great introduction for sets, division and multiplication.

Potato masher: give this job to your mini wrecking ball (every family has one). She can pound away at the potatoes and they will only get smoother and creamier.

Jobs for children under 10

Poet Laureate: This child can write a poem of thanksgiving, welcome for guests, family blessing, etc.

Pie maker: Our oldest daughter has been the official apple pie maker for 12 years, since she was 7 and I taught her how.

Onion and celery chopper: If they can handle the onions, otherwise just the celery for stuffing.

Stuffing mixer: This person gets to mix stuffing with hands and put into turkey.

Bread cuber: With a blunt bread knife, cut the bread into cubes.

Scribe: This child helps the younger ones make the thankful chain by writing one thing they are thankful for on each link. The chain should be as long as there are days from Thanksgiving until Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Each day, remove a link and read. The chain gets shorter as your holiday arrives.

Beverage server: Takes drink requests from guests and serves.

Spill monitor: Helps to keep up with all the cooking spills.

These are just a few of the many ways to involve children in the festivities and keep them occupied and productive instead of in the way and bored.